Record to be proud of makes Huddersfield team to fear in play-offs

The Terriers go into today’s final game of the regular season at home to Brentford knowing they are assured of finishing third in League One.

That means Lee Clark’s side will face the team who finish sixth, a position currently occupied by Bournemouth.

The Cherries can, though, finish fifth if they beat Rochdale at home and Milton Keynes Dons lose at Oldham Athletic, a combination of results that would, instead, send Huddersfield to stadiummk a week today.

Clarke said: “We are not bothered who we play (in the semi-finals), to be honest. To be promoted, you have to play two of the three other teams so it doesn’t make much difference.”

Town are looking to extend their proud record of not having been beaten in the league since the turn of a year, a run that stands at 24 games.

Usually, such an impressive burst of form is enough to guarantee automatic promotion.

However, due to Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton having been even more relentless in the collecting of points, Huddersfield will have to settle for a tilt at promotion via the play-offs.

That was confirmed last Monday when the Saints won at Plymouth Argyle to move three points clear – an advantage that, together with Nigel Adkins’s men having a vastly superior goal difference, meant the south coast club had sealed a return to the Championship.

Clarke, who was in the Town side beaten over two legs by Millwall in last season’s play-offs, said: “I have never been on a run like this before. Twenty-four games and counting is a fantastic achievement.

“The run we are on has seen some records broken and we are all very proud of that. We now have to maintain that and carry it on into the play-offs. It bodes well for the next few games, though we will not be complacent.

“Finishing (the regular season) with a win is important. We want to carry on the run and go into the play-offs on the back of a positive result. That has to be our aim.

“The mood is great and everyone is in good spirits. We had one eye on the result last Monday but, because of how things had been going over the past few weeks, it would have been a massive surprise if Southampton had slipped at the final hurdle.

“All credit to them for how well they have done for getting second place. As a team, we couldn’t have done any more. In eight of the last 10 seasons, we would already be up on the 86 points we have now.

“And if we can beat Brentford, then 89 points would have been enough in each and every one of those 10 seasons. It has been a fantastic effort by everyone.”

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